Partners for the future

Our Partners for the Future are a special group of people who have left a gift to Garvan in their Will. Their generosity plays a major role in our work and ensures their legacy lives on in medical research advancements.

Peter Olive

When Peter was in his late twenties, his mother developed a form of chronic haemophilia that has no known cause or cure. When she lost her battle to the disease 10 years later, Peter’s father was determined to leave money to medical research.

In a sad turn of events, he lost motor and communication skills after a stroke and was never able to revise his Will. Peter has now left a bequest to Garvan in honour of his father’s wishes, and in memory of both his parents.

"...it's reassuring to think that something I've accumulated throughout my lifetime can bring benefit to humanity as a whole."

Roberta Withnall

Roberta is no stranger to medical research. After teaching Nature and Physics in the UK and Sydney, she began work at the UK’s Medical Research Council. There she had the chance to visit a range of research centres and witness truly important developments in the field.

Roberta has now retired in Sydney, where she’s able to volunteer regularly at Garvan and keep up with the latest research developments. After seeing the important work being done by Garvan’s researchers, she’s confident her bequest will be a lasting legacy.

“Including a bequest to Garvan in my Will was a sound decision.”

Terry and Helen Jones

After surviving breast cancer, Helen was diagnosed with the beginnings of an autoimmune disease in 2013. She and her husband Terry visited Garvan to find out more about their research in this area, and decided to leave a bequest in their Wills.

They were impressed by the quality of Garvan’s work, and are certain their gift will make a significant difference to people’s lives. Terry and Helen hope their legacy will support Garvan’s scientists to discover better ways to detect, treat and hopefully prevent autoimmune and immunological diseases.

"We were really impressed by the quality of Garvan's research."

Gabriel Farago

Gabriel Farago was a young boy when he arrived in Australia from Eastern Europe, with all his belongings in a little brown suitcase. With new opportunities, hard work and good fortune, his belongings grew well beyond the suitcase over the years.

Gabriel and his wife Joan were looking for a way to give back to life what it had given them, and decided to leave a bequest in their Will. After looking into Garvan’s work, it was the obvious choice for the Faragos and they know their bequest will be put to good use.

“What could possibly be more important than supporting cutting-edge medical research which will benefit generations to come?”

Claire Greaves

After a career in banking, Claire now volunteers with the Garvan Research Foundation each week. “The work environment is great, and the work keeps your mind active. If I don’t come in, I really miss it”.

By the time Claire was preparing her Will she was very passionate about Garvan’s work. So, when she was deciding who to leave a bequest to, she says, “I didn’t even think about other organisations. If someone is considering leaving a gift in their Will, I would say, do it! It doesn’t have to be all of your assets. Every little bit counts. By supporting medical research, you are leaving a gift to future generations of your family, and to humanity as well”.

"By supporting medical research, you are leaving a gift to future generations of your family, and to humanity as well.”

George Quigg

George regularly gave modest donations to Garvan, and was a Partner for the Future. Having no immediate family of his own, George loved going to PFF events and introducing his close friends to the work of the Garvan.

Little did we know that George had a special interest in the stock market, and when his estate was realised, the Garvan was the recipient of over $1 million. This generous bequest is now in our endowment fund, providing income in perpetuity so we can plan with security and fund new projects quickly and easily.

“I decided then and there to become a benefactor.”

Rick Stevens

Rick is a semi-retired educator and author. He began giving to Garvan with annual donations. However, the more he learnt about Garvan’s work and breakthroughs, the more he wanted to contribute.

When it was time to review his Will, he included bequests to four different charities – one of them being Garvan. Rick is pleased to be playing a role in helping to unlock the secrets to a range of devastating diseases and enjoys being able to stay up-to-date with Garvan’s research and discoveries.

"It's encouraging to know that the future of medical research will be in good hands, and that I'm playing a small part."

Michael and Joy Foulsham

Michael and Joy have been donating to Garvan for many years. In fact, they have first-hand experience of our work – Joy has been treated for osteoporosis since 1989 by Professor John Eisman, former director of the Osteoporosis and Bone division, now Lab Head – Osteoporosis and Translational Research.

Garvan has meant so much to them over the years, so their decision to leave a bequest wasn’t difficult at all.

“We are so impressed by the researchers we meet. They are such hard working and dedicated people.”

William “Bill” Walker

Bill is a passionate Garvan supporter and sees that people are living longer thanks to medical research like Garvan’s. In fact, he’s living proof of this fact having recently turned 101.

He held a party not only to celebrate his birthday, but to also raise money for Garvan. Instead of gifts, Bill asked his friends to donate to Garvan, or even consider leaving a bequest to them in his Will – just like he has.

"I feel I am making a contribution to the increasing longevity of my fellow man."